Aikines-Aryeetey looking to bounce back

With attentions now turning back to London and next August’s World Championships, Malcolm – who won 4x100m relay bronze at the 2005 and 2007 editions – is adamant Aikines-Aryeetey and his team-mates can put their Olympic disappointment firmly behind them.

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey of Great Britain reacts during round one of the Men's 4 x 100m relay. Photo by Ian Walton/Getty Images

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LOUGHBOROUGH’S Harry Aikines-Aryeetey endured a heartbreaking Olympics this summer, but former sprinter Christian Malcolm is adamant he can bounce back at next year’s World Championships.

Having not been selected for the individual 100m in Rio, Aikines-Aryeetey had to put all his eggs in a 4x100m shaped basket.

And there looked to be hope of ending his Brazil adventure on a high as he was part of the Team GB men’s 4x100m relay side that had qualified for the final.

Aikines-Aryeetey wasn’t part of the quartet that had won European gold just a month earlier, and he had it all to do in the Rio 2016 final as he, James Ellington, Adam Gemili and Richard Kilty were placed in lane one.

And as Jamaica stormed to gold from lane four, Aikines-Aryeetey and co could only manage a fifth-place finish as they came home in 37.98 seconds.

But with attentions now turning back to London and next August’s World Championships, Malcolm – who won 4x100m relay bronze at the 2005 and 2007 editions – is adamant Aikines-Aryeetey and his team-mates can put their Olympic disappointment firmly behind them.

“The guys were unfortunate with the lane draw because both of the times they run were world record runs from lane one – they ran the fastest relay from lane one – so it shows you how well they run,” said Malcolm, speaking at a celebration event for Get Set for Community Action.

“They were unfortunate with a poor lane draw. If they had a better draw in the heats then they would have been in a better lane for the final and then they would definitely have been in the mix for the medals – I have no doubt about that.

“They worked extremely hard and they have come a long way from previous years – plus they got the baton around for once!

“Each year is different and you start the year afresh. You work with the talent that you have and we always have people breaking through which is fantastic.

“When you go to the World Championships you always expect Great Britain to be among the medals, in the top five, and hopefully they can make a medal.

“Individually the speed is improving and their relay skills are definitely improving.

“I am really excited for next year and looking forward to it as long as everyone keeps their feet on the ground and stays humble then there is no reason why they can’t be among the medals again.”

Since retiring after collecting 200m bronze at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, Malcolm has spent some time mentoring the Great Britain 4x100m relay teams.

And he admits that practice makes perfect when it comes to the relay, especially considering Great Britain have had some high-profile mistakes in recent years.

“There are a few times a year where we get to catch up and have training camps and relay races,” he added.

“It is not much because you do not want to take away from their individual training because first and foremost they need to have that speed so they need to be with their individual coaches as much as possible.

“But at the same time you do need to work on the relay because you cannot just turn up and do it.

“So you need to have that balance and this year we had the balance and next year we will review what we did and decide if we need to do more days or less days.”

• Get Set for Community Action is a new UK-wide programme for young people and their communities created by the British Olympic Foundation and British Paralympic Association and made possible thanks to the Big Lottery Fund.